10 Things You Need To Know Before Playing Mass Effect

One of the most telling examples of Mass Effect’s development is the shift in change between the first two games. Each game, of course, had a healthy combination of exploration, combat, and dialogue-heavy narratives. But one of the most-referenced grievances against the first game was the wonky combat.

Allies in your party would often charge directly into battle, cover be damned, and the overly-complex directive system made it extremely difficult to get the AI to target your enemies effectively. Mercifully, Bioware seemed to listen to their fans for the sequels.

Starting with Mass Effect 2, the camera moved down to resemble more contemporary over-the-shoulder style shooters of the time. Cover became much more important, with a Gear-styled mechanics supported by a wide variety of Engineering or Biotic abilities making combination attacks far more impactful.

If you find yourself struggling with the first game in the series, do try and stick with it. Subsequent games will rewards patience.